Blank for a sink

ABSTRACT

A drawn blank of metal is provided to define the floor of a subsequently formed commercial sink. A flat strip of metal is folded and welded at the abutting ends to form a peripheral frame which can then be seated on the blank and welded thereto. The peripheral frame may be of any suitable height so as to permit the blank to be used to make sinks of different heights.

[0001] This invention relates to a blank for a sink. More particularly, this invention relates to a blank for use in constructing a commercial sink.

[0002] As is known, commercial sinks have been fabricated in various manners. In some cases, a large square sheet of metal has been notched in four comers to form a cross-like blank with a central region and four outwardly extending arms. Thereafter, the four outwardly extending arms have been folded upwardly relative to the central region and the adjacent edges of the arms have been welded together. However, this technique wastes a relatively large amount of material since the notched out sections of metal are generally regarded as waste and requires a relatively large amount of labor and time to weld the folded arms together. In addition, additional time and labor has been required to polish the welds to smooth surfaces both inside and outside of the sink.

[0003] In order to reduce the amount of waste, a long rectangular sheet of metal has been folded into a U shape and then two small rectangular pieces of metal have been welded to opposite sides of the U-shaped sheet of metal to form a sink. However, this technique requires a larger amount of labor and time for welding as well as for polishing. In addition, when securing the smaller pieces of metal to the U-shaped sheet, gaps frequently form at the corners of the sink. These gaps have usually been closed by means of plugs that are worked in some fashion or by pounding the material about the gaps until the gaps are closed.

[0004] Further, polishing also thins a welded seam so that the finished product may be weakened along the welded seams to the extent that leaks may occur in use over time.

[0005] In order to reduce the amount of waste and eliminate the need for welding and polishing, techniques have been known wherein a sheet of metal has been deep drawn into a sink. However, this technique requires the metal sheet to be made of relatively thin thickness to be able to be shaped. Also, the walls of the drawn blank require sloping in order to be removed from a die and the radius between a wall and the floor of the drawn blank must be generous in order to permit drawing and removal.

[0006] In many cases, commercial sinks made of stainless steel materials and the like have been fabricated from individual flat sheets which are welded together along abutting edges in order to form the bottom and side walls of the sink. After welding of the plates together, the resulting weld joints have been polished on the inside and outside of the sink in order to provide a smooth surface appearance to the fabricated sink. However, these fabrication techniques are time consuming as time is required not only in order to form the welds required to connect the flat plates together but also to polish the resulting weld beads to a smooth surface both on the inside and the outside of the sink.

[0007] Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to reduce the welding time required to fabricate a commercial sink.

[0008] It is another object of the invention to reduce the polishing time required to fabricate a commercial sink.

[0009] It is another object of the invention to maintain a wall thickness at the corners of a sink.

[0010] It is another object of the invention to provide a blank that can be used for forming commercial sinks of different depths.

[0011] It is another object of the invention to provide an economical technique for forming a sink.

[0012] It is another object of the invention to form a sink of metal with a minimum amount of material with little or no waste.

[0013] It is another object of the invention to provide a sink of metal that has an increased capacity relative to previously drawn sinks.

[0014] It is another object of the invention to provide a commercial metal sink that is leak resistant.

[0015] Briefly, the invention provides a blank for a sink that is comprised of a drawn one piece metal body that defines a floor for receiving an opening for a drain and an upstanding wall extending peripherally of the floor.

[0016] The invention further provides a sink that is fabricated from the blank and a metal frame that is welded to and extends upwardly from the wall of the body.

[0017] The blank is characterized in being of relatively thin thickness, such as 14 gauge, so that the metal can be easily drawn into the desired shape and subsequently welded to the frame. In this respect, thicker blanks require a higher working force in order to obtain the desired shape.

[0018] The blank is also characterized in having a wall with an upper flat peripheral edge. This facilitates welding to a frame having a flat lower peripheral edge. In this respect, the peripheral flat edges of the body and frame are disposed in facing relation to each other during a welding operation.

[0019] In one embodiment of the invention, the floor has inwardly sloped surfaces extending towards a centrally disposed opening and all of the comers of the blank are curved or radiused. Typically, the height of the wall is 2 inches high and may be in the range of from 0.5 to 5.0 inches.

[0020] The blank is made of a rectangular shape although the blank may be formed into other shapes, such as a square shape and a circular shape.

[0021] In order to form a sink, a metal frame is obtained for welding to a blank. In this respect, the frame may be fabricated in various manners. Preferably, depending upon the shape of the blank, a one piece metal strip of desired width is folded at longitudinally spaced intervals to form a rectangular or other polygonal shape or is bent into a circular shape. Thereafter, the ends of the metal strip are welded together to define a peripheral frame.

[0022] Next, the frame is seated on the upstanding wall of the blank and welded in place to form a sink. The welding operation forms a weld bead that extends along the entire periphery of the wall at the welded joint. Thereafter, the resulting peripheral weld bead is polished on the inside and outside of the sink to form smooth surfaces coincident with the outside surface and inside surface of the sink.

[0023] The completed sink may be of any suitable depth, such as from 5 inches to 30 inches and has side walls that are parallel to each other rather than conical walls.

[0024] Typically, the thickness of the materials used to form the blank and the peripheral frame is no more than 14 gauge. In addition, the radius at each corner of the peripheral frame is typically ¾ inch while the radius of the blank along the lower edge surfaces is typically {fraction (13/16)} inch with a 90° bend.

[0025] Since the blank may be readily drawn into the desired shape and a flat sheet can be easily folded and welded into a desired shape, the time required to form the two components is at a minimum. Further, since only a single weld seam is required to weld the peripheral frame to the upstanding wall of the blank, the welding time required is at a minimum. Likewise, since only the peripheral weld seam and the weld seam of the peripheral frame require polishing, the polishing time is at a minimum.

[0026] Since the blank that forms the bottom is drawn, the need for welding is eliminated. Also, the polishing of a weld seam and the resultant thinning of the seam are eliminated.

[0027] These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0028]FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a drawn blank in accordance with the invention;

[0029]FIG. 2 illustrates a top view of the blank of FIG. 1;

[0030]FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the blank of FIG. 1;

[0031]FIG. 4 illustrates an exploded view of the blank of FIG. 1 during welding of a rectangular frame to the blank;

[0032]FIG. 5 illustrates a sink constructed in accordance with the invention;

[0033]FIG. 6 illustrates a view taken at line 6-6 of FIG. 5 of a weld seam prior to polishing;

[0034]FIG. 7 illustrates a view similar to FIG. 6 after polishing of a weld bead; and

[0035]FIG. 8 illustrates a view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 5 of the polished weld seam for securing the ends of the folded plate of the peripheral frame together.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 5, the sink 10 is formed of two components 11,12 that are welded together.

[0037] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the first component 11 is a blank that is formed of a rectangular shape in order to be used in fabricating commercial sinks of similar rectangular construction. Alternatively, the blank 11 may be made with a circular shape or any other suitable shape that can be drawn for making commercial sinks of corresponding shapes.

[0038] The blank 11 is formed of a drawn one piece metal body, for example, of stainless steel, that defines a floor 13 having inwardly sloped surfaces extending toward a centrally disposed opening 14 for a drain and an upstanding flat vertical wall 15 extending peripherally of the floor 12. The floor 13 is also formed with a recessed annular portion 16 about the opening 14.The blank 11 may have overall dimensions of 16 inches by 20 inches by 2 inches.

[0039] Alternatively, the blank 11 may be formed with a solid floor 13 and the opening 14 for a drain may be made at a later time, for example, after the components have been welded together.

[0040] As indicated, the floor 13 has a plurality of creases 17 extending radially of the opening 14 with each crease 17 extending toward a respective corner of the blank 11. Further, the floor 13 may also be formed with embossments (not shown) that will serve to channel water towards the opening 14. The embossments also strengthen the floor 13.

[0041] Referring to FIG. 3, the floor 13 merges into the upstanding wall 15 via a radiused edge 18. Typically, the radius of this edge is {fraction (13/16)} inch where the thickness of the metal body is a 14 gauge. In addition, the height of the wall 15 above the radius is ¼ inch but may be up to 5 inches. One of the characteristics of the wall 15 is that the opposite sides are parallel to each other. Thus, the bend between the wall 15 and the floor 13 is 90° where the floor 13 is horizontal and slightly greater where the floor 13 slopes away from the wall 15.

[0042] The wall 15 has an upper flat peripheral edge 19 that is disposed in a horizontal plane. This edge 19 is more particularly shown in FIG. 6.The wall 15 is vertically disposed relative to this horizontal plane.

[0043] Referring to FIG. 2, the wall 15 is radiused at each corner 20 on a radius typically of ¾ inch.

[0044] Referring to FIG. 4, the second component 12 is fabricated in the form of a metal frame to be mounted on and secured to the blank 11. This frame 12 is formed of a one or more metal strips 21, for example of the same material as the blank 11. Where one strip is used, the strip is folded at spaced intervals into a rectangular shape corresponding to the shape of the blank 11. For example, the metal strip 21 may have a width of 5 to 30 inches and is folded into a rectangular shape with each corner 22 being radiused to conform to the radius of the blank 10. As indicated, the two ends of the metal strip 21 are joined together as by a butt weld 23 at about mid-point of the length of the side of the frame 12 with the weld 23 extending vertically. The resulting frame 12 thus has four vertical walls 24 with the opposite walls being parallel to each other.

[0045] The frame 12 further has a flat peripheral edge 25 at the bottom.

[0046] In order to form the sink 10, the blank 11 and frame 12 are positioned so that the flat peripheral edges 19, 25 are disposed in facing relation to each other, as indicated in FIGS. 5 and 6, and a welding operation is carried out in order to integrate the components 11,12 together. A weld bead 26 is thus formed along the entire periphery of the welded-together components 11,12. Thereafter, the vertical weld bead 23 is polished to form smooth surfaces on the inside and outside of the resulting sink 10 as indicated in FIG. 8 and the peripheral weld bead 26 is polished to form smooth surfaces on the inside and outside of the resulting sink 10 as indicated in FIG. 7.

[0047] Thereafter, the sink 10 may be secured in known manner to the underside of a support that has been formed with an opening through which access is had to the sink 10. Since the sink 10 does not taper inwardly from the top down, as in the case, of previously deep drawn sinks, but rather has parallel side walls, the working volume of the sink is greater than the previously made sinks.

[0048] The invention thus provides a blank that can be readily drawn in a simple manner. The blank may then be shipped or transported to fabricators for fabrication of a sink of customized depth. That is to say, the same size blank may be used for sinks of different depths.

[0049] When using a preformed blank, a fabricator need only form a weld along a flat seam rather than a curved seam. As a result, polishing of a flat seam is easier and less complicated than polishing a curved seam. The invention thus reduces the amount of fabrication time required to form a commercial sink. In particular, the welding time is significantly reduced and the polishing time is reduced.

[0050] Since the peripheral frame 12 has flat parallel walls 24, the sink 10 has a greater volume for a given base (i.e. blank 11) than a sink that might otherwise be deep drawn. That is, if a sink were to be deep drawn, the sink would require walls that slope outwardly relative to the base in order to be pulled from a die. In a similar regard, use of the blank 11 allows a tighter radius to be used between the floor and peripheral wall since the height of the wall relative to the floor is a minor fraction of the width of the floor and is itself relatively small, i.e. being typically less than 5.0 inches in height. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A blank for a sink comprising a drawn one piece metal body having a floor and an upstanding wall extending peripherally of said floor, said wall having an upper flat edge disposed in a horizontal plane.
 2. A blank as set forth in claim 1 wherein said body is made of stainless steel.
 3. A blank as set forth in claim 1 wherein said wall is vertically disposed relative to said horizontal plane and has a height of from 0.5 inches to 5.0 inches.
 4. A blank as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a radiused edge connecting said floor with said wall.
 5. A blank as set forth in claim 4 wherein said wall is of rectangular shape having opposite walls disposed in parallel relation.
 6. A blank as set forth in claim 4 wherein said floor is of rectangular shape.
 7. A blank as set forth in claim 6 wherein said floor has an opening therein and a plurality of creases extending radially of said opening.
 8. A blank as set forth in claim 1 wherein said floor and said blank is of a thickness equal to or less than 14 gauge.
 9. A one piece blank for a sink comprising a rectangular floor of metal having a thickness of up to 14 gauge, an upstanding wall extending peripherally of said floor, said wall having a thickness equal to said thickness of said floor, opposite parallel sides and an upper flat peripheral edge disposed in a horizontal plane, and a radiused peripheral portion integrally connecting said floor with said wall.
 10. A sink comprising a drawn one piece metal body defining a floor and an upstanding wall extending peripherally of said floor; and a peripheral metal frame welded to and extending upwardly from said wall of said body.
 11. A sink as set forth in claim 10 wherein said metal frame is formed of at one strip with a pair of longitudinally disposed ends welded to each other.
 12. A sink as set forth in claim 10 wherein said metal body has a flat upper peripheral edge and said frame has a flat lower peripheral edge facing said edge of said body and welded thereto.
 13. A sink as set forth in claim 10 wherein said wall of said body has has a height of between 0.5 inches and 5.0 inches and frame has a height of from 5 inches to 30 inches.
 14. A method of fabricating a sink comprising the steps of obtaining a drawn one piece metal body defining a floor and an upstanding wall of predetermined shape extending peripherally of said floor; obtaining a metal frame of a shape corresponding to said shape of said peripheral wall of said metal body; and welding said frame to said wall of said body in an upwardly extending manner while forming a weld bead extending along the periphery of said wall.
 15. A method as set forth in claim 14 further comprising the step of polishing said weld bead internally of said frame and externally of said frame to form smooth surfaces coincident with an outside surface and an inside surface respectively of said frame.
 16. A method as set forth in claim 14 wherein said metal body has an upper flat peripheral edge and said metal frame has a lower flat peripheral edge and wherein said frame is positioned on said body with said respective edges in facing relation to each other during said step of welding. 